Nokia reaches agreement with Tencent to replace Xbox LIVE with QQ Game Hall

Nokia has reached an agreement with Tencent, China's top online social portal / network, for the company to provide their multiplayer gaming service QQ Game Hall for Windows Phone "Tango" handsets, according to a report by the Shanghai Daily. This service will replace Microsoft's Xbox LIVE, enabling access for consumers to connect with friends and play online titles (think: Apple's Game Center).

"It will allow users to log in through their QQ accounts and find their QQ friends immediately."

The above quote is according to an unidentified source. Tencent's gaming platform, has recently surpassed 200 million registered users, but Microsoft hasn't released much information detailing "Tango", which makes MWC 2012 an event to look out for. While Chinese consumers aren't able to download apps and games from the Marketplace, developers are able (and encouraged) to submit content.

Live from Mobile World Congress 2012!

OK, all you Windows Phone fanatics out there. We've got boots on the ground in surprisingly sunny Barcelona, Spain, for Mobile World Congress 2012. Microsoft doesn't have the in-your-face presence of years past since Windows Phone 7 no longer is the young upstart OS of years past. But as you can see from the clock on the Hotel Catalunya, just across the street from the Fira de Barcelona where we'll be spending a lot of time this week, the folks from Redmond are certainly letting us know they're here.

And we're here as well. So check back all next week for live coverage from the Mobile World Capital and your friends at Mobile Nations!

Only one entry per reader and the photo must be taken by a Windows Phone camera (we'll stretch it to any smartphone camera). The photo theme - Black and White. You can submit a photo of people, places or things but it needs to be presented in black and white (grayscale to some). You can use apps such as Thumba or Fhotoroom to convert the picture to black and white or use desktop software (e.g. Photoshop) to take care of things. Image size? Keep it around 5x7 at 72 dpi.

We've already received some fantastic entries and we'll sort things out over the next few days and announce the winner by Friday, March 2, 2012. Again the grand prize winner will walk away with the Lumia 710 and one runner up will walk away with a $75 gift certificate to the WPCentral Store.

Windows Phone App Review: Cool Camera

Here's a short take on a new app for your Windows Phone. Cool Camera is a camera app that gives you an alternative to the native camera app. Cool Camera is a decent camera app for your Windows Phone with some very nice features. Not sure if it can overtake the native camera app on your Windows Phone but it's worth a try to decide for yourself.

Nokia Lumia 800 tops marketshare, but what about app usage?

It feels like it was just yesterday that we ran the story about Nokia stealing the top-spot with regards to Windows Phone market-share.

Analytic firms often throw around numbers, and for the most part we just believe them. This does of course make sense, as any reputable firm would much rather keep a good name, than make up random numbers. But it's always good to see actual data backing up what they tell us. Enter: app statistics!

So I thought now would be a good time to checkout the usage of my apps on a device level. My first app was published just 6 months ago, so obviously that is the furthest back I can see.

Photosynth for Windows Phone coming soon?

One app sorely missing with Windows Phone is Photosynth. You already have a desktop application and, to the dismay of some, an iOS app for Photosynth. We've heard that Windows Phone was a top priority with Photosynth and it now looks as if a Windows Phone version is close to being released.

The website GEMIND has stumbled upon signs that Microsoft has been creating accounts on the Photosynth website to test the integration of a Windows Phone app. They have even stumbled on test photo sets on the Photosynth website that appear to be have taken with various Windows Phones.

For those not familiar, Photosynth stitches together series of photographs to create panoramic images. Microsoft stalled on developing a Windows Phone version of the app due to camera API issues. Issues that should have been resolved with the Mango update.

No clue as to how close the development is but based on the dates of the test sets, a Photosynth Windows Phone app might be just around the corner.

We'll echo GEMIND's sentiments on the issue, It's about time Microsoft.

Yahoo! recommends the Lumia 710 Windows Phone as an affordable option

The Lumia 710, a budget low cost Windows Phone, has been featured in an article over at Yahoo! recommending good free smartphones (tied to carrier terms). There are six handsets in total: iPhone 3G, LG Phoenix, Droid Pro, LG Enlighten, LG Rumor Touch and the Nokia Lumia 710.

As noted in the article, the 710 sports 4G connectivity, a 1.4Ghz chip, 3.7" screen, 5MP camera and the latest version of the Windows Phone OS. Looking at the other competitor handsets, it illustrates just how aggressive Nokia is with pricing their Lumia family of smartphones.

Nokia's Amazing Windows Phone Deliveries

Some interesting videos have surfaced with Nokia making some amazing Windows Phone deliveries in Hungary. The Lumia 800s were ordered through T-Mobile's web site and Nokia did their best to make the delivery special.

The deliveries included an Apollo Astronaut, dancers, Michael Jackson, and a bunch of circus performers. It's a nice promotion and does make our friendly UPS truck look rather dull.

Nokia has held some very nice promotions over seas for their Lumia Windows Phones. It will be interesting to see what they have in store next month when the Lumia line hits full swing here in the States. Hit the jump to catch the other three special deliveries by Nokia and T-Mobile.

Strategy Analytics: Nokia becomes top Windows Phone manufacturer in just four months

This certainly wont be surprising to our readers (since we cover the global Nokia marketing campaign regularly) or anyone else who's in the loop when it comes to Windows Phone, but it would appear as though Nokia has grabbed the #1 spot for platform manufacturer marketshare according to Strategy Analytics, which runs alongside developers publishing statistics indication a climb in Lumia 800 usage.

The Finnish handset maker achieved the number one position with 33% marketshare in just four months, since the launch of the Lumia 800 in Europe. The Lumia family of Windows Phones has not only taken the platform by storm but also the world, and to illustrate this design appreciation the 800 received a number of awards at CES 2012.

Check out the chart below for an approximation for Windows Phone OEM marketshare.

Gerbils Physics Exclusive Preview (Xbox Live for Windows Phone)

The Windows Phone version of Gerbil Physics was officially unveiled on Wednesday as part of a big batch of upcoming Xbox Live titles. Now WPCentral is pleased to bring you this exclusive preview of Pencel Games’ Gerbil Physics.

Gerbil Physics is a physics puzzler. In each level, players are presented with one or more stacks of gerbils and an allotment of bombs. The goal is to use careful bomb placement in order to knock the gerbils below a yellow line. If a gerbil remains above the line when you run out of bombs, you’ll fail the level and have to try again. Some levels throw addition kinks into the mix, like structures that must not be knocked over.

Microsoft retiring Zune and Windows Live branding in Windows 8

Though they had a good run, it appears Microsoft's Zune and Windows Live brands are going the way of the Dodo. The Windows 8 Consumer Preview shows that the Windows Live group of applications have been replaced by a pre-installed "Windows Communications" group. "Windows Live ID," the current all-in-one login for Microsoft services, will be replaced with the generic "Microsoft Account." [Edit: It's actually called "Microsoft Your Account", see below] The "Zune" name is also glaringly absent in the Windows Store and in relation to music and movie apps. Zune Pass, however, still works.

The new multimedia branding in Windows 8 will be called "Xbox Live for Windows" and will include apps for music, movies and games. Rumor is that Zune will officially be gone by the summer, and may even be replaced by a music service that resembles Spotify via Xbox Live. Throw in the demise of the Zune desktop client for Windows Phone, and voila!, bye-bye Zune.

From the WPCentral Forums...weekly roundup

This week in the forums we have been keeping ourselves busy trying to keep our mind off of Mobile World Congress which is just around the corner. You would think that all this waiting would lead to slow times in the forums but that's not the case. Windows Phone Central Editor George Ponder kicks things off with a give away in this thread "WPCentral Nokia Lumia 710 Giveaway!" That's right, we are giving away a Lumia 710. Now you have a reason to register in our forums that way you can join the discussions--you might even win that Lumia 710. A quick look through ourmost popular threadsmight help you find something interesting to discuss.

Forums Member rabit1 wants to know what is the best of the best WP phone? Everyone has an opinion on this one and it's not just a "what's your favorite phone discussion", you'll need to have good reason why your device is better than the others.

In this thread "Windows Phone Questions" Forums Member Spiify Is thinking about getting a Windows Phone and as the title suggests he has questions. It seems like every answer leads to another question in this thread, so join the discussion and let's see if we can get all the answers together for Spiify.

We talk a lot about the people who sell Windows Phones in the forums too. It seems we all have our own story about our experience and this thread is one of those: Looks Like I could be Jumping Ship to Orange. Forums Member Big Supes had a great experience in his local Orange Store.

When you're done with those popular threads take a tour of our Applications and Games Spotlight forums and pick out a fewnew titles. Our developers have been generous again this week, here is a small sample of what has been posted:

Windows Phone App Review: MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal is a neat app for your Windows Phone to helps you track your workouts and diet as you work towards an established weight goal. It's a rather simple tracking app that taps into a healthy amount of resources. MyFitnessPal boasts the largest food database with over 1.2 million items and based on using the app over the past few days, I believe it.

The interface is easy to pick up on and a bar code scanner just in case your meal isn't listed in the database, MyFitnessPal is an impressive fitness and health app for your Windows Phone.